


Oh, The Lights Are Shining

by soft_satan



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Cute, Cute Kids, Electrocution, Family, Family Feels, Family Fluff, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluffy, Fluffy Ending, Fluffyfest, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mistletoe, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Whump, mistletoe kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-14
Updated: 2019-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-08 06:47:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21796912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soft_satan/pseuds/soft_satan
Summary: “Well, I can’t put lights on the tree if I have no lights. Even if they weren’t a hazard, I can’t very well use the lights that almost killed my best friend.” Eddie came back and sat down on the floor beside Buck, opening the kit and taking out a few supplies. “They don’t deserve the honor of lighting my Christmas tree.”---In which Buck tries to help Eddie decorate and lights up more than just the tree.
Relationships: Christopher Diaz & Eddie Diaz (9-1-1), Evan "Buck" Buckley & Christopher Diaz, Evan "Buck" Buckley & Christopher Diaz & Eddie Diaz (9-1-1), Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz
Comments: 32
Kudos: 522





	Oh, The Lights Are Shining

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by an exchange I had with @LSWeston on twitter (thanks, dude!). I started out with the intention of this being waaaay more whumpy, but it just turned into a big ol pile of fluff.
> 
> I am okay with this.
> 
> Title is from "All I Want For Christmas Is You" (the Michael Buble version).

“This is gonna be great! Chris will be so excited!”

“Careful, Buck. These are the knick-knacks,” Eddie warned, slowly lowering a box marked "fragile" down to Buck’s waiting hands.

“I got it.” He took the box and sat it next to the others by his feet. “Is that the last one?”

“Yep!” Eddie cheered, slowly backing down the ladder to the attic. “Thanks again for helping me.”

“Man, I’m happy to! I can’t wait to see Christopher’s face when he walks into a winter wonderland.”

“As long as we don’t put the ornaments or the star on the tree without him,” Eddie chuckled, folding the ladder back up into the attic and shutting the door.

Buck grabbed a box and headed for the living room, Eddie right behind him with one of his own. “I wouldn’t dream of taking the honor of the star placement from my favorite kid.”

Eddie couldn’t fight his smile. “The lights and stuff are the boring part, according to him. He never wants to help with any of it, he just likes to dictate the placement of the ornaments. So I figure we can do all the “boring” parts, then when he comes home, we can make a whole night of it.”

“You two are going to have so much fun,” Buck sighed, heading back to the hallway to grab another box.

Eddie’s brow furrowed as he followed behind Buck. “What do you mean “us two?” You are staying, aren’t you?”

“I thought this was a family tradition?” Buck’s adorably confused face made Eddie equal parts angry, sad, and something he couldn’t quite identify.

How was this idiot so oblivious?

“Have you not caught on yet that you are a part of this family?”

The surprise on Buck's face pulled at Eddie's heart. “I—uh…”

Eddie nudged his shoulder into Buck's as he passed him to grab another box. “You're taller than me. You can hang the mistletoe.”

“Yeah, okay,” Buck mumbled, a shy smile breaking out across his face as he took another box into the living room.

The warmth blossoming in Eddie’s chest wasn’t a surprise anymore. It happened anytime Buck so much as looked at him, and had been happening since the first time he’d met Buck. Even when the other man had been a dick to him, Eddie had known that there was just something special about Evan Buckley. As he picked up the last box, the opening piano chords of “Oh Christmas Tree” from the Peanuts soundtrack filled the house, and Eddie entered the living room to see Buck with a Bluetooth speaker in one hand and his phone in the other. He sat both down on the shelf above the TV and shot Eddie another grin that set his heart on fire.

Buck clapped his hands together. “Let’s do this!”

Eddie sat on the floor and opened the box marked “tree,” pulling out and sorting the different sizes of branches. He paid no mind to Buck curiously digging through the boxes, assuming he would figure out where to put what on his own.

“You’ve got some great stuff in here.” Eddie heard more rustling but focused on putting together the center pole of the tree. “Oh my god…”

Eddie looked back to see Buck with a hand over his mouth and the unmistakable shimmer of tears in his eyes as he stared at something in his hand. “What is it?”

Buck found Eddie’s eyes and turned the ornament around. It was flat and round, made to look like a regular bauble, and very sloppily painted. In the middle was a photo of a much younger Christopher, grinning up at the camera with glasses that were slightly too big for his tiny head. Eddie was not expecting the squeak that came from Buck’s mouth when he spoke.

“He’s so _cute_.”

There went the warmth again, like a furnace blazing in the middle of his chest. Eddie smiled fondly, at both Buck and the picture. “Yeah, he was about two or three there. He painted it himself.”

With more care than really necessary for a piece of plastic, Buck laid the ornament on the coffee table before going back to digging. Eddie just watched him for a moment, thoroughly enjoying the way Buck’s eyes lit up with every somewhat interesting ornament he pulled out just to look at. In an odd way, Eddie felt vulnerable, watching Buck go through the pieces of Eddie’s life within the box of ornaments, but he didn’t feel an ounce of desire to stop him. He turned back to the tree, starting to stick the branches into their proper places.

“Will you… will you tell me about all of these?” Buck asked, a shy hesitance in his voice.

Eddie met his eyes again over his shoulder. “About what? The ornaments?”

“Yeah. I mean, the stories behind them all. Where you got them, why. They’re all so different and beautiful.”

“Sure, I can tell you about them while we’re putting them up.” Eddie turned back to continue assembling the tree. “I’m sure Chris would love to hear about them too. He probably doesn't remember the origins of most of them.”

They fell into a comfortable silence as Eddie attached the branches, not noticing that the rustling had stopped when Buck had made his request. He stood to put on the last few branches, about to pull the top portion of the tree out of the box when Buck spoke again. It wasn’t the words that caught Eddie off guard, but the sadness that didn’t belong in his best friend’s voice.

“We only ever had bulbs.”

Eddie dropped the top of the tree back into the box, giving Buck his attention. He didn’t say a word, not wanting to pry or push, but took a step closer to Buck as a sign that he was listening. Buck looked up from the box with a sad smile.

“It’s really beautiful that you put so many memories on your tree. My parents only ever had the plain glass bulbs on our tree. It was beautiful, don’t get me wrong. Just…” Buck licked his lips, dropping his gaze back to the box in his lap. Eddie sat down beside him, and Buck leaned into his side slightly. Maybe it was because of the dip Eddie caused in the couch, or maybe Buck just needed some comfort. Either way, Eddie leaned into him a little too. “I’d go to my friends’ houses, and their trees were covered in ornaments like yours. Each one unique and holding a special memory or to mark a special occasion. I remember, on the last day of kindergarten, we made dumb paper ornaments with our class pictures in them. I was so proud of mine. It was a snowman, and my face was its face.” Buck’s smile didn’t reach his eyes, and Eddie leaned into him just a little bit more.

“What happened to it?” Eddie hesitantly questioned.

Buck shrugged. “I know it was never put on the tree. We didn’t even have a “baby’s first Christmas” ornament for me or Maddie. My parents were all about looking classy to their friends.”

“Your parents suck.”

The genuine chuckle that erupted from Buck, however small, was enough to relieve Eddie’s concern. “Yeah, they do.”

“Is that why you don’t put a tree up in your apartment?”

Nodding, Buck released a sigh. “I can’t stand to use the plain bulbs, but it feels fake to just go out and buy a bunch of random ornaments from Target. I want a tree full of memories and meaning, not… blown glass tacos and Darth Vader.”

Eddie considered Buck's words, picking up the photo ornament that Buck had sat on the table. “I'll tell you what…” He grabbed Buck’s hand and turned it over, laying the ornament in his palm with Christopher’s face smiling up at them. “This can be your first meaningful ornament.”

“Eddie, no…” Buck looked at him with the faint beginnings of tears in his eyes, and Eddie felt a surge of emotion in his own chest. “This is yours.”

“He’s yours too.” Eddie smiled. With the way Buck’s eyes widened, Eddie knew he’d caught the double meaning. “Come on, he’s so adorable. How can you resist?”

“I never can,” Buck gave him a goofy grin, looking down at the ornament with fondness. “Thank you.”

“Oh! I’ve got another you can have.” Eddie stood in a flash. “It’s my favorite.”

“I don’t want to take your favorite—”

“Hush, you’re taking it,” Eddie chided, shooting Buck a grin on his way out of the room, still talking as he entered his bedroom and grabbed the ornament off his the top of his dresser. “I put it together last week. It’ll be nothing to make another.”

He came back to the living room and retook his seat beside Buck with a bounce, nudging his friend’s shoulder with his own, holding the ornament out to Buck. He took it carefully, cradling it in his hands like a precious gem. Eddie watched as tears welled up in Buck’s eyes again, a look of awe on his face as he stared at the ornament. It was another photo ornament, the frame made to look like it was of candy canes, and carved into the bottom was the word “family.” The photo was from their first Christmas as friends, with Buck, Christopher, and Eddie posed in front of Santa’s Workshop, the three of them smiling like fools. Buck dragged a hand over his face slowly, releasing a heavy sigh as he looked at Eddie.

“I love it,” he breathed, a beaming smile stretching across his face. “Thank you.”

Resisting the urge that he felt deep, _deep_ down inside him, Eddie patted Buck on the shoulder and stood up, moving back to the tree as he cleared his throat. “We need to get busy if we want to be done by the time Chris gets out of school.”

He could feel Buck’s eyes on him long after he’d turned away to put the top part of the tree in its place, but he didn’t risk looking back. Taking a deep breath, he tried to think of something other than how much he desperately wanted to kiss his best friend. The only thing worse than having unrequited feelings was having them for someone you saw almost every single day. Eddie thought for sure that they would have faded already, but over the nearly two years he’d known Buck, they’d only gotten stronger. He had no idea if Buck even _liked_ men, much less _him_, and Eddie would be damned if he let feelings ruin the best friendship he had ever had. Of course, there was a _very_ slight chance that Buck would reciprocate his feelings if Eddie were to ever tell him the truth, but there was just too much to lose, and Eddie wasn’t willing to risk it. He would rather bury his feelings and keep Buck in his life than not have him around at all.

From the corner of his eye, Eddie watched Buck pull a bundle of Christmas lights out of a box, tangling it all around himself as he tried to keep it together. Eddie stifled a laugh as he began opening up the branches of the tree to make it look fuller. By the time Eddie was finished, Buck had detangled and wrapped the strings of lights loosely around his hand. Eddie felt mildly proud of him for it.

“I probably should’ve checked to see if these even work before I went to all the trouble,” Buck chuckled.

Eddie stood back and surveyed his work critically, reaching up to spread a couple more branches apart. With a loud snapping sound the lights flickered, followed by a clatter and a loud _thud_. Eddie spun around to see Buck lying on the floor across the room beside a heap of lights.

“Buck!” Eddie was kneeling beside him in a flash. “Buck? Are you okay? What the hell happened?”

Buck’s eyes were wide and full of tears, mouth hanging open in shock. “I think so?” he breathed, voice trembling as much as his hands. “I think… it’s time to throw those lights out…”

“Did you…” Eddie glanced at the pile of lights that were still plugged in but no longer lit, which had been unceremoniously thrown against the wall. “Did you just electrocute yourself?”

Buck nodded slowly, finally focusing his eyes on Eddie.

Eddie bit his lip, trying _really_ hard to hold in his laughter. “Only you, Buckley.”

“Are you seriously _laughing_ at me? I could’ve _died_!” Buck set his full lips into a pout as he tried to sit up slowly, glaring at Eddie but allowing him to help him up into a sitting position.

“But you _didn’t_, so it’s totally okay for me to laugh at you,” Eddie snickered. “Are you okay? Let me see your hand.”

“Yeah, just a little jittery,” Buck sighed, letting Eddie take his left hand into his. “I feel like I drank ten cups of coffee at once.”

Eddie wanted so badly to believe the blush on Buck’s face was because he was delicately holding his hand as he inspected it, but he knew it was just due to embarrassment. The skin of his palm was a dark pink and already starting to blister slightly, but didn't look too bad. “Stay here, I’m going to get something for this.”

“I don’t think I could stand right now if I wanted to,” Buck chuckled breathlessly, running his other hand through his messy hair as Eddie stood. “My limbs feel like wet noodles.”

Eddie patted him on the top of his head as he walked by, unplugging the homicidal Christmas lights before heading for the bathroom. “I guess that’s it for decorating for right now,” Eddie said, raising his voice so Buck could hear him as he fetched the box from under the sink.

“No!” Buck whined. “It was supposed to be ready for Chris!”

“Well, I can’t put lights on the tree if I have no lights. Even if they weren’t a hazard, I can’t very well use the lights that almost killed my best friend.” Eddie came back and sat down on the floor beside Buck, opening the kit and taking out a few supplies. “They don’t deserve the honor of lighting my Christmas tree.”

Buck chuckled, though he still seemed slightly out of it as he watched Eddie apply burn cream to his palm.

“Besides,” Eddie continued. “It's almost time to go get Chris, and you shouldn't rush to start moving around so soon. Just take a moment to rest.”

The flush was still present on Buck’s ears and cheeks when Eddie glanced up at him, and it made it that much harder to hold Buck’s hand in his, even if it was for medical treatment. He placed a gauze pad over the burn, shooting Buck an apologetic look when he hissed in pain. Taking the roll of gauze from the box, Eddie started to wrap his hand carefully.

“I’m sorry,” Buck whispered, tucking his long legs under himself. “I kind of ruined the night.”

“Nah,” Eddie scoffed, gently wrapping a piece of tape around Buck’s hand to hold the gauze in place. “You can stay here and rest while I go get Chris. We’ll stop by the store on the way home, grab some new lights, and we’ll be back in business when we get home. We probably won't finish tonight, but that's all the more reason for you to stay the night and help us finish tomorrow.”

Buck looked at Eddie innocently, lips turning up in a grin. “Will you get stuff for hot chocolate while you’re at the store?”

“Anything you want, Pikachu.” Eddie pointedly avoided acknowledging Buck’s fake hurt as he put the kit back together. He stood up and offered a hand down to Buck. “Think you can stand now? At least long enough to get to the couch.”

“Yeah, I’m not trembling as much. Just hella achy.” Buck winced as he unfolded his legs, grabbing Eddie’s hand and letting the man help pull him up. Buck stumbled slightly as he got to his feet, and Eddie grabbed his arm to steady him. “Thanks.”

“Hey, it was my lights that knocked you on your ass. It’s the least I could do,” Eddie quipped, not letting go of Buck’s arm until they made it over to the couch.

Buck plopped down with an “oof” and a sigh. “I’m just… gonna hang here for a minute.”

Eddie glanced at his watch, grimacing. “If I don’t leave soon, he’s going to be the last kid waiting. Will you be okay?”

Buck waved a hand. “Yeah, I’m fine. Go get our boy.”

Eddie couldn’t help the flip his heart did in his chest when Buck said that. “Okay. Take it easy, don’t stress. If you start having chest pain or anything, don’t call me, call 911.”

It was the eyeroll to end all eyerolls. “Yes, daaaad,” Buck drawled, smirking.

“Alright, I’ll be back.” Eddie set the first aid kit on the coffee table before pointing an accusatory finger at Buck. “Stay away from anything with an electrical current.”

Buck stuck out his tongue in response.

Eddie flipped Buck the bird as he left the room, smiling when the other man broke out into laughter behind him. He hated leaving Buck alone after such an ordeal, but he seemed fine, and he knew neither of them wanted to leave Christopher waiting. He grabbed his coat on the way out, slipping it on as he made his way to his truck. It was unusually cold for LA, even for December, and Eddie pulled his coat tight around himself while he fumbled with his keys. He threw a look at the living room window as he got into the truck, seeing Buck’s silhouette pass by. Whatever he was up to, Eddie just hoped Buck would be alive and conscious when he got back.

…

“Are you _sure_ Buck is okay, Dad?” Christopher asked as the pair made their way up the path to their front door.

“It was just a little zap, buddy. I promise, he’s fine, just a little achy,” Eddie assured, opening the door. The voice of Nat King Cole filling the house greeted them as he motioned for Christopher to go in first, his son’s backpack on his shoulder and the reusable grocery bag full of lights and cocoa ingredients hanging from his wrist.

“Wooooaaah,” Christopher breathed as he walked into the house, looking all around as he took off his coat.

When Eddie finally looked inside, he was struck with the sudden appearance of garland and giant paper snowflakes hanging from the ceiling. Curiously, Eddie shut the door and followed his son as he moved toward the living room, stopping short right behind him at the sight before them. The only box of decorations that still contained anything was the box of ornaments. Every Christmas decoration Eddie owned was sprawled across the living room and hallway. Like the hall, garland and giant paper snowflakes hung from the ceiling, the garland draped all the way across the room and the snowflakes delicately spinning in place from a string. His Christmas knick-knacks were out on display, Chris and Eddie’s stockings hung on the wall. It was perfect. The only thing left to decorate was the tree.

“You like it?” Buck asked from behind them, smiling sheepishly when Eddie whirled around on him. He was absently rubbing at the bandage around his hand, biting his lip in a way that made it that much more difficult for Eddie to resist his feelings.

“It’s awesome! Thanks, Buck!” Chris exclaimed, wrapping his arms around Buck’s legs more gently than usual. He looked up at Buck with a look of concern. “Are you feeling better?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, kiddo.” Buck ran a hand through Christopher’s curls, shooting Eddie a disapproving look.

Eddie shrugged. “He wanted to know why we needed new lights and I don’t like lying to him.”

“We got you a present!” Christopher bounced excitedly. “Show him, Dad!”

Buck beamed, and there went Eddie’s heart again. He could barely handle being around him anymore. Reaching into the bag still hanging from his wrist, he produced a bright red stocking. Holding it up, he let it hang from his finger so Buck could get a good look. The fuzzy fabric had the classic firefighter symbol embroidered on the front and “Buck” messily scrawled across the white trim in dark blue ink.

“I wrote your name on it with my marker, so it’d match mine and Dad’s,” Chris explained helpfully.

Tears were suddenly back in Buck’s eyes, but this time it wasn’t because of bad memories or pain. He carefully took the stocking from Eddie like it was a newborn baby, cradling it delicately in his hands as he stared at it.

“Are you sad?” Chris asked, voice wavering with concern. “You don’t like it…”

Immediately Buck dropped down to his knee and pulled Christopher into his chest, squeezing his eyes shut as he held the boy tight. “I _love_ it. Thank you.” Buck met Eddie’s eyes over Christopher’s shoulder, the love in his blue irises throwing kindling into the furnace inside Eddie’s chest. “Thank you.” Buck let Chris go, clutching the stocking to his chest as he met the boy’s gaze. “I’ve never had a stocking of my own, so this is _extra_ special. Thank you, Chris.”

Eddie sniffled as Chris beamed up at Buck, telling himself it was because of how cold it was outside. “Hey, so, how about I make us some hot chocolate and order some pizza, and then we can finish decorating?”

“Yeah!” Chris cheered. “Let’s hang your stocking next to ours, Buck!”

“Great idea!” Buck chuckled, letting Christopher lead him into the living room.

Eddie watched them go, feeling that familiar pang of longing in his chest. He wanted this every day, but he would learn to let go of his feelings. As long as Buck was in their lives in some way, he would be happy.

…

The tree was lit – with no more accidents – and the ornaments were hung on the branches with care. It took three times as long as usual, as Eddie had regaled his boys with the story behind each and every unique ornament. Much to his delight, they had both kept an interest in the stories until they were finished hanging the last one. With their attention spans, he hadn’t expected them to last so long.

With the tree decorated, the pizza nothing but a few crusts in the box, and three sticky, empty mugs sitting on the coffee table, the boys had snuggled up on the couch to enjoy The Santa Clause. Which is where they still found themselves by the time the credits started to roll. Christopher was practically squished between the two grown men, one of his little arms wrapped around Buck’s bicep, the fingers of his other hand laced between Eddie’s much larger digits. Eddie had stopped watching the movie some time ago, electing to instead watch Christopher sleep, occasionally stealing glances at Buck as he quietly giggled at the movie.

“Man, I still love that movie,” Buck whispered, looking down at the sleeping boy beside him before meeting Eddie’s gaze with a smile. “Maddie rented it one year, and we waited until our parents went to bed on Christmas Eve to watch it. We built a huge pillow fort over the TV in her room to muffle the sound, so mom and dad wouldn’t hear us. We stayed snuggled up under the blankets until morning, talking and laughing even after the movie was over. It was one of the best Christmases I’ve ever had.”

“I’m glad you had her when you were growing up.”

“Me too,” Buck sighed, looking over to the stockings on the wall, an unreadable look on his face. “I love my sister, but I think this is going to be the best Christmas ever.”

“I hope it is,” Eddie whispered. “You deserve it.”

The soft, grateful smile Buck gave him took Eddie’s breath away. He looked away, afraid of what may happen if he stared too long. He cleared his throat, slowly removing his son’s little fingers from his own before standing up.

“I should get him to bed.”

“Yeah,” Buck sighed, carefully extracting his arm from Christopher’s vice grip.

Once Christopher was free, Eddie lifted him into his arms, carrying the still sound asleep child off to his room. With grace and care, he lowered the boy into his bed and pulled the covers up under his chin. Fingers moving delicately, he removed the glasses from Christopher’s head and placed them neatly on the bedside table. Leaning down, he placed a feather-light kiss to his son’s forehead before tip-toing out of the room, leaving the door open just a crack. As he moved down the hall, Eddie heard the front door shut softly, and he couldn’t deny the way his stomach twisted with disappointment. Was Buck leaving? Had he forgotten that he was more than welcome to stay? Did he not want to? Hurrying down the hall, he pulled the front door open just as the front of the house became bathed in the warm, colorful glow of Christmas lights hung around the top edge of the porch. He stepped out into the cold night air, the chill of the wood beneath his feet soaking through his socks. Buck was at the far end of the porch, wrapped up in the throw blanket from the back of the couch, closing the cover on the power outlet as much as it could be with the cord of the lights stopping it.

“Well, this explains how that fourth box of lights I bought disappeared,” Eddie quipped, quietly shutting the door. “When did you do this?”

“While you were making the cocoa.” Buck stepped closer and opened up the throw blanket, nodding his head for Eddie to join him. “I thought it would be nice.”

“It is.” Eddie could see his breath, but he suddenly didn’t feel cold at all.

He hesitated only a moment before taking up the offered place beside Buck. The taller man wrapped half the blanket around Eddie’s shoulders, pressing the side of his body to Eddie’s to make the blanket stretch all the way around the two of them. It was freezing cold outside, but between the blazing furnace Buck had ignited in his chest, and the heat radiating off of Buck himself underneath the red and green plaid throw, it felt like the middle of summer to Eddie. He threw Buck a grateful smile before looking out to the quiet street before them, the glow of the city coloring the fluffy clouds above in a warm pallet, much like the Christmas lights were doing to Buck’s skin. Eddie spared a glance back up at the other man, finding his intense blue eyes looking right into his soul. Eddie swallowed his emotions, reminding himself that Buck didn’t want what he did, and he never would.

“You know, I forgot one decoration,” Buck mused, turning his body more toward Eddie’s. “The one thing you actually asked me to hang.”

Eddie quirked an eyebrow at the mischievous grin curling Buck’s full, kissable lips. He cursed himself internally for staring at the offending feature, forcing his eyes back up to meet Buck’s. “What’s that?”

“Maybe you can help me decide where to hang it. I was thinking…” From out of the blanket, Buck produced a cluster of mistletoe, holding it up high above their heads. His eyes twinkled, but it wasn’t because of the lights hanging around them. “Maybe right here?”

Eddie’s heart was pounding, eyes now flicking between Buck’s lips and his eyes of their own volition. If he wasn’t mistaken, Buck’s were doing exactly the same thing as he leaned in half way, leaving it Eddie’s choice to make. His head was spinning with excitement and fear, but every worst case scenario that threatened to taunt him was stomped out by the look in Buck’s eyes, replaced by every hope and dream he’d entertained since the day he met Evan Buckley. And at that very moment, one of those dreams was coming true.

The softness of Buck’s lips was enough to take Eddie’s breath away. It was a chaste kiss, the two of them pulling away after only a few seconds, hooded eyes meeting through lashes as they both processed what just happened. Eddie’s chest was on fire as every emotion he’d ever felt toward Buck raged on. He couldn’t have fought his smile if he’d wanted to, and as Buck mirrored his joy, he knew he definitely did not want to.

Out of the corner of his eye, Eddie saw something flutter down from the sky. He knew Buck had noticed it too from the way he dropped the mistletoe in shock. They both looked out over the yard as another flake danced down out of the sky, followed by another, and another. It was like confetti delicately floating down from the heavens, as if the angels were celebrating them. Buck’s giggle made Eddie’s heart sing, and suddenly he was giggling too. With a hand on his defined jaw, Eddie brought Buck’s eyes back to his. Their lips met again, just as delicate and hesitant as the first time.

“Merry Christmas, Buck,” Eddie whispered, still so close that their lips brushed with every word.

Eddie could feel Buck’s lips curl into a smile, and the sensation was immediately added to the list of his favorite things.

“Merry Christmas, Eddie,” Buck breathed.

Buck wound his arms around Eddie’s neck as their lips met again. Maybe it was just his imagination, but Eddie was pretty sure he could feel the electricity still coursing through Buck as they deepened the kiss.

Yeah, this was going to be the best Christmas ever.


End file.
